Week 8 Update:
Who knew that so much went into the idea of walking? Those of you in attendance on Tuesday night's meeting were able to learn the great benefits of walking along with proper shoe function from David Hahn, PT, CSCS, SCS. David, a sports physical therapist, began his presentation discussing the several stages of walking. Throughout each stage he described the types of walking injuries that can occur. In stages with too much motion people may experience injuries such as plantar fasciitis (irritation of the thick tissue on bottom of foot), bunion deformities, and shin splints. In stages with not enough motion people may experience injuries such as peroneal tendonitis (irritation of the tendons that run alongside the ankle), stress fractures, and potential knee pain. David Hahn advice for these common walking issues: choose a combination of shoe and or inserts that will help stabilize the motion.
David explained that a shoe's main function is suppose to protect the bottom of the foot from injury, provide traction and stability, and absorb ground reaction or shocks that occur during exercise. He went over the basic parts of the shoes as well. He taught us about the different types of “lasts.” A board last which will provide stiffness, and can be felt when trying to bend the shoe since its very hard to bend. Then a slip last, which provides little stability and will make it very easy to bend a shoe. There are also shoes that are a combination of the board last (found in rear of shoe) and slip last (found in forefront of shoe). David also explained the heel counter of the shoe. For individuals who have too much motion, David suggested a thicker heel counter. Then for individuals with not enough motion, David suggested a thinner and easy to move heel counter.
Near the end of David’s presentation he offered several considerations for the different types of walkers and the style of shoe they should look for. In the end David offered several beneficial and easy stretches for people to do at home. He stressed the importance of stretching when your muscles are warm and to avoid forcing the stretch. Overall David Hahn offered many useful tips that we can all use as we continue on throughout the Community Weight Race.
Food Collected March 2nd Presentation
This week we collected 45.8 pounds of food. This combined with our previous totals places us at 591.2 pounds of food collected for the CWR program. With every pound donated we are setting a new record of food collected through the Community Weight Race. Again we would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed their canned goods. The community greatly appreciates your generosity but it is important for us to keep on giving because it is going to local communities who appreciate it dearly!
Mid-Point Results.
Here is the list of how teams are doing at the mid point. Everyone keep up the good work.
Reminders:
- Another Nordic walking session will be held this Saturday outside at 11:30am at Pfiffner-Pioneer Park in Stevens Point. We’ll be walking along the green circle trail.
- It's Time to WALK WISCONSIN! Gear up for the SIXTH annual Walk Wisconsin, Saturday, June 5th. Full-Marathon, Half-marathon or Quarter-marathon routes…on the Beautiful Green Circle Trail in Portage County. Please visit http://www.walkwisconsin.com/ to register for the event and to learn more about this fantastic opportunity!
- Please pick up your Community Weight Race T-shirts if you have not done so already because there are a number of people that still haven’t gotten their CWR shirts
- A pair of black athletic pants was left at last week’s presentation that no one has claimed. Please come forward if you think you might have left the pants there, if the pants are not claimed after next week’s presentation they will be donated.
Next Week’s Preview
There has been a program change for next week's March 9 presentation.
Kelly Schoonaert, Ph.D. will be presenting on “Emotional Eating” on March 9th. Mary Sadler who had been scheduled will present her topic “Healthy Eating” the following week on the 16th.